Receptacle-closure.



No. #372,1624 PATENTE@ NGV. 2G? 1907 WEISSBNTHANNBR.

REGEFTACLE GLOSURE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 27. 1005.

original l No. 872,162.

T o all whom 'it may concern:

order toefiect its o lpublicas wel necessary ,before the `AUNITED STATES PTENT @F.FCE.

ALFRED L. WEISSENTHANNER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

RECEPTACLE-CLOSURE.

'Be it known that I, ALFRED L. WnIssEN- r'rnANNER, a citizen of the Republic of France,

and a resident of New York city, St-ate of New York, have'invented a certain new and useful Im rovement in Receptacle-Closures, of which t e following is a specification. The/,present invention relates to means for locking a receptacle or object of the invention eing to devise means lwhich necessitate the destruction of the identity of the4 origl al receptacle or package in ening and to thereby afford means by which a fraudulent or unwarranted reuse may be readily detected.

Itlis'a well known and common experience that yreceptacles or packages are frequently reused `b unscrupulous dealers after the contents ave been consumed by the original purchaser, they being bought up in quantities `for the purpose of refilling with spurious goods, thus perpetrating a fraud Aupon the as upon the rightful manufacturer, acker or dealer.

'.Witfi a simple label pasted upon the recept'a'cle or package it is extremely diflicultif not impossible to detect a fraudulent reuse of the original package as it is very easy to counterfeit the label should it have become mutilated or removed in the opening of the package, and so-called non-refillable packages have not yet reached the stage of com- Ilnex'cial success.` The best that can be accomplished is to render easy the detection of an kunwarranted reuse of a receptacle or package. This I haveac'complished by the present invention which necessitates 0r coni- .pels theoririnal purchaser to effectually destroy the identity of the original receptacle o r'package in order to effect its opening Without affecting such temporary use as may be goods are wholly consufned. Thus inthe case of a cigar box the locking tongue must be severed, but such removal While destroying the identity of the box does not affect its utility as a container for cigars. So also with a box for bon-bons, conserves or other confections; jars for preserves; bottles for liquors, and various other receptacles or packages which Will readily suggrst themselves.

The invention will be understood by reference to the accompanying drawings in which Figure l is a side lew of a box embodying one forni c-i myinvention; Fig. 2 a transverse, vertical section `on the plane of the line 2--2 Specification of Letters Patent.V

Application filed April 27. 1905. Serial No. 257,647.

ackage, the primaryl Patented Nov. 28, 1907.

of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a side view of a portion of a box showing another form of' the invention; Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical sectional view on the plane of the line 44 of Fig. 3; Figs. 5 and 6 are side views lrespectively of a cover and a box body intended to illustrate the manner of cutting said parts in the adapta-- tion of the invention; liig. 7 is a side view showing the parts of Figs. 5 and 6 assembled and the locking tongue enlarged; Fig. 8 is a top view of Fig. 6 and Figs. 9 and 10 are enlarged sectional views of a portion of Fig. 7 showing a part of the cover and the body of the box in different positions relatively to each other.

Similar reference numerals indicate similar parts in the several views.` y

The invention comprises a tongue on one of the members of the receptacle or package adapted in the act of closure to pass through an opening in the other member, and after being so positioned of having its projecting ,end enlarged to thereby prevent its withdrawal through said opening. In order to effect the opening of the receptacle or package the enlarged projecting end of the tongue must be severed and wholly removed thus destroying the identity of the original.

Referring to the drawings Figs. 1 and 2 illustrate the application of the invention to 'a metal box in which the numeral 1 designates the body of the bei.' "nd 2 a cover therefor, the latter being hinged to the fo rmer at 3. In this adaptation of the invention a portion of the metal of the bottom of the body 1 is cut along parallel lines and across one' end so as to provide a tonguel 4, which in practice may be of any desired wid th as for example one-eighth to one-quarter of an inch. The said tongue is then bent upwardly along the retaining integral line 5 so that it projects above the plane of the top of the body as shown in dotted lilies Fig. 2. Then in such position the cover 2 is closed over the body 1 the tongue, passing through an opening 6 in said cover. The opening 6 may be of circular, square, rectangular, or other section, the

diameter or length thereof being substantially equal to the width of the tongue so as to allow the latter to pass through without binding. By means of a hammer or die the upwardly projecting end Li of the tongue 4 is then widened or expanded laterally so that the width of said end is made greater than the .lianieter effectually preventing the cover from being or length of the opening 6 thus):

.hinged to the body.v `9 is provided `with a depending flange 1() in raised to give. access to the contents of the box. The tongue 4 is then bent over downwardly s o as to lie snugly against the side of the body of the box or against the side of the cover if the latter is provided with a depending ange. In this reshaping of the end of the tongue, I prefer to give it a slight coneav ity, as shown in Fig. 2, to permit the ready linsertion of the end of the finger,v a knife blade or other suitable toolto raise said end so that it may be grasped by the iingers. 'l/Vith a slight eflort the tongue may be fractured by bending, torn, or otherwise severed along the line of the upper bend 7 permitting thecover to be raised as that portion of the tongue 4 back of the enlarged end is adapted ass through the opening 6.

il'vhen the tongue 4 is severed the identity of the original box is destroyed but its utility as a container of goods is not impaired and it may be continued in use until the contents of the 'box are consumed. Should the box subsequently come into the possession of an unscrupulous manufacturer, packer .or dealer,

any fraudulent attempt upon his part to reuse the box for packing goods not made by the original user would be instantly or readily detected by reason of the absence of the lock` ing tongue.

In Figs. 3 and 4 I have shown a box similar.

to that of Figs. 1 and 2 with a modified form of tongue. In this instance the tongue is of the same width throughout but has been punched so as to forni a projecting knob or convex surface 8 of greater height than the width of the opening 6 toprevent the withi rdrawal of the tongue through said opening.

In Figs. 5 to 10 inclusive l have shown an application of the invention to a box circular in section and in which the cover is not In this form the cover which is cut an integral tongue 11 said tongue being bent inwardly from the plane of the cover sulicient to `flord an opening I0 for the passage of a tongue 12 cut from the body 13 of the box. The tongue 12 is bent outwardly a` slight distance from'thc plane of the body so as to exert a slight spring action outward1y, and so` that when the parts are iassembled, as sh'ownin Fig. 9, a turning movement'ofthe 'cover and body of the box relative to each other will cause the tongue 12 to be projected through the opening .10 of the cover. ".lhc projecting ond of the tongue is then enlarged by expanding the metal laterally or by Apunching the convex surface, or by forming ribs or'corrugations j thereon, or in any other manner providing means which will prevent the withdrawal of '60v i, thetongue wit-hout previously severing a portion of the tongue as above described.

The cover, if provided with a'dependent flange, may fit' within instead of over the outside of the body. Also While I have 6 5 shown two locking tongues in some of the above constructions it is to be understood that one tongue maybe sufficient or I may use more than two as may be desired.

I"ifhat I claim and desire to secure by Let- 70 ters Patent iste# 1 A receptacle comprising a body and a cover therefor, a locking tongue integral with and projecting from one of said members the other of said members having an' 75 opening through vwhich s'aid tongue is adapted to pass in effecting the closure of the receptacle, said tongue having its projecting end enlarged after the receptacle is 'closedd to thereby prevent its withdrawal 80 throughsaid opening and alsouendering im-V possible the opening of the receptacle without severing saidtongue. v y

2. A receptacle` comprising a body having a portion of the base cut therefrom and bent to constitutea tongue, a cover having an opening therein through which said tongue is adapted to pass upon the closure of the receptacle, said tongue having its projecting end- 'nlarged r'af/ter the/receptacle is closed 90 to /t'fiereby prevent its withdrawalthrough said opening. and also rendering impossible the opening of the receptacle without severing said tongue.

A receptacle comprising a body and a cover therefor,'one of said members having a tongue cut therefrom and bent out of the plane thereof, and the other member also having a tongue cut therefrom and bent out of the plane thereof, said second tongue being adapted to pass through the opening formed by the iirst-named. tongue and having its projecting end enlarged to prevent with# ,drawal through said4 opening.

Atrium l.. vviilssinlinwmm.

vWi tnesses:

J. GALLANT, GRACE' l.. llEAsLEY. 

